


A Chronological Kind of Love

by darthearts



Series: Light [8]
Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 14:27:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12843129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthearts/pseuds/darthearts
Summary: Three ficlets portraying the beginning, midst, and end of love.





	A Chronological Kind of Love

**Perfection Is in the Eye of the Beholder**. _College!AU. Mina/Tzuyu._

Myoui Mina. Myoui Mina. Myoui Mina.

The name swirls and swirls in Tzuyu’s head until it no longer makes sense. In the first place, none of this made any sense.

She was supposed to move to Japan, study hard, get a degree, and land a nice, cushy job back in Taiwan that would make her life a comfortable one. Along the way, she would either date a boy from her friend circle in Taiwan, or be introduced to a suitable candidate for marriage. That is what her parents want from her and for Tzuyu, tall, pretty, and smart, it really isn’t that hard.

But Myoui Mina makes it hard for her to even think straight, much less follow her parents’ wishes.

She would _love_ to know her parents’ reaction if they ever find out that she’s driving herself crazy over a Japanese girl. (A _Japanese_ girl, not even Taiwanese! And a Japanese _girl_ , not a boy!)

In hindsight **,** Tzuyu can see why she fell for Myoui Mina. The girl is a master of all trades, brains and beauty combined into one ethereal being. One of the most sought-after girls in college, she is _that_ girl—straight As honours track, looks that have both boys and girls tripping over themselves, grace and elegance that comes with years of experience as a ballerina. Despite how outstanding and obviously exceptional she is, she seems to be oblivious to it all. Hardworking and modest, she never hesitates to help other coursemates, be it academics or miscellaneous things.

(Yes, Myoui Mina is perfect. Anyone who says otherwise can go jump off a roof. Their opinion is obviously insignificant.)

But it is also Mina’s supposed perfection that intimidates Tzuyu, no matter how attracted she is to her. While Tzuyu knows that she is pretty, she knows she isn’t as pretty as Mina. Or as smart. Or as kind. Or as perfect. Mina is as unreachable as the stars and Tzuyu should really find someone else to be attracted to. Her stupid brain must be dysfunctional because it is hard enough to be attracted to a girl—to be attracted to a _perfect_ girl is probably the most difficult problem her brain has come up with.

That is why her stupid brain comes up with the most ingenious idea to help her get over her hopeless crush on Myoui Mina—finding Mina’s flaws. It is an absolute fool proof plan, unless Mina is really perfect and that would mean Tzuyu is doomed to pine after the girl for the rest of her life. It definitely will not be simple to carry out the plan, but she must if she wants to live easy for the rest of her college years—and for the rest of her life because then she can get over Myoui Mina and find a boy to marry and have Taiwanese babies. (Although on second thought, interethnic babies are adorable too.)

She can do this. Mina is only human after all.

1.) Tone-deaf

Mina could be terrible at singing. It’s not out of the question. The girl is an excellent dancer but maybe she chose to dance because she could not sing. As Tzuyu scratches down the possibility of Mina being tone-deaf in her notebook with a pencil, she nods to herself. She is definitely a step closer to getting over her dumb crush. Closing her notebook as she finishes writing, she stands, exiting the university library and passing by one of the tutorial rooms.

Just as she is about to exit the hallway to go for one of her classes, she hears someone singing in one of the rooms. Tzuyu swears that she is hearing the voice of a choir of angels and she has not heard singing this good since her senior Jihyo—and Jihyo is really good, if not, the best at singing. Curiosity gets the better of her and she finds herself retracing her steps, managing to locate the source of the music.

She pushes the door open slightly and her breath catches when she sees Myoui Mina in the room, singing along to the accompaniment of a guitar. Jihyo is strumming the guitar lightly and Mina is leaning against the front desk, hands clasped in front of her as she sings along. (Why has Jihyo conveniently left out how good Mina is at singing in all their conversations?)

Mina looks so beautiful—the sunlight is framing her face in a warm glow and her eyes are closed, entirely immersed in the music. Tzuyu can listen to her voice forever and she would never complain.

Well, _shit_.

~~1.) Tone-deaf~~

///

After some snooping around and countless people weirdly eyeing her, she manages to find out what could possibly be a flaw of Mina’s. Research states that while Mina is the nicest person around, she does not exactly have the best sense of humour, often cracking cold jokes that garner polite laughter.

2.) Terrible sense of humour

This is especially hard to prove because this would involve talking to Mina herself and Tzuyu isn’t sure she can survive ten seconds of eye contact with Mina. That is why after one of their shared classes, she does not allow herself to dwell on how frightening the prospect is of talking to Mina. She stands, pushing her chair with the back of her knees, marching up to Mina.

And really, Tzuyu should have known better than to do that because apparently, she can’t even survive being near Mina for ten seconds, let alone hold a decent conversation.

“M-Mina,” she calls out, wanting to slap herself for stuttering like an idiot.

“Oh, Tzuyu, hi!” Mina greets, smiling kindly. “Do you need anything?”

“A joke,” she says but when Mina gives her a weird look, she flails around looking for excuses. “I’m trying to impress someone, and I heard you have good jokes!”

Mina looks confused, but she nods as if she understands anyway. She hums in contemplation for a moment before breaking out into a gummy smile.

“What do penguins eat for lunch?” she asks, grinning at Tzuyu.

Tzuyu only blinks, “Uh. Fishes?”

“Iceburg-ers!” Mina offers the answer enthusiastically. “Do you get it? Ice burgs, ice burgers!”

It is the worst joke Tzuyu has ever heard but Mina’s eyes are twinkling and she’s looking at Tzuyu like she expects laughter. So Tzuyu can only fake a laugh, nodding her head to show that she gets the joke.

Mina still has her gummy smile on and her eyes are crescent moons with how hard she is smiling at Tzuyu. She looks absolutely adorable with how proud she is of her (rather lacklustre, but don’t tell Mina) joke and how she was able to make Tzuyu laugh.

So Mina does have a terrible sense of humour but can it really count as a flaw if it makes her ten times cuter? (The answer is a no and Tzuyu knows how whipped she is.)

~~2.) Terrible sense of humour~~

///

Her plan is sinking like the titanic. Her crush, which is supposed to be buried ten feet under the ground, seems to be only growing bigger and bigger. She has no idea why she is sitting opposite Mina, having lunch together like they’re best of pals when really, the sweat gathering in her palms can fill the pacific ocean twice. She wanted to run away earlier when Mina asked to have lunch together but she could not find it in herself to say no to those pleading, puppy eyes and those pouty lips.

Just when all hope seems to be lost, Tzuyu watches in terror as Mina happily squirts large dollops of ketchup all over her egg rolls, drowning her food in the red condiment.

3.) Ketchup addiction?????

“Mina, are you okay?” Tzuyu asks, genuinely concerned for Mina’s well-being.

“Oh,” Mina blinks before the realization that she has got ketchup all over her food hits her.

The ketchup addict (?) flushes a deep red, the blush spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. She looks so sheepish, an embarrassed smile playing at her lips. She lowers her head a little, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth.

“I… love ketchup a lot,” Mina admits self-consciously, averting her eyes.

“I can see that,” Tzuyu comments, still half-amazed and half-terrified by the amount of ketchup Mina consumes.

“Is that a turn-off?” Mina asks, the corners of her mouth drooping sadly into a pout. “I know some people don’t like it when I do this.”

Mina sounds so sad that Tzuyu wants to wrap her into a hug and tell her she can have all the ketchup she wants. Tzuyu is willing to buy every ketchup bottle in the world for Mina just so she can be happy. Tzuyu just wants to see Mina happy.

“I like you,” she blurts.

All the alarms sound in her head when she realizes what she just said.

“No! I mean, I like it! I like that you like ketchup! But that’s not to say that I don’t like you! I like you! Uh- I mean, platonically? Yeah! As a friend! I like you as a friend!” Tzuyu trips and stumbles over her words and she can feel her cheeks growing hotter with every word.

She buries her face in her hands, utterly embarrassed by her accidental confession. She wants to dig a hole, preferably her own grave, so that she can just die and stay there for the rest of her death. At least she doesn’t have to face this humiliation.

“I like you too.”

_What?_

The words have her looking up at an equally flushed Mina, but this time, Mina isn’t looking away. Mina is staring straight at her (despite her shyness) and Tzuyu can feel Mina’s gaze pierce her heart like a cupid’s arrow.

That’s it. She’s done for. She has officially fallen in love with Mina.

(Her parents are just going to have to deal with a Japanese daughter-in-law and interethnic babies.)

///

**More Than Enough**. _Domestic!AU. Mina/Chaeyoung._

Chaeyoung hears the door unlock and swing open, revealing Mina bent over, slipping her black heels off. Her girlfriend looks exhausted to the bone, her tiredness manifesting in the form of adorably scrunched up eyebrows and a sulky bottom lip. Clad in a professional white blouse and a pencil skirt, she looks every part the overachieving workaholic who always does overtime. It looks like she had a hard day at work because she looks like she’s aching for rest with her droopy eyelids. Chaeyoung watches from the couch as her girlfriend exhales quietly, closing the door and massaging her ankle as she does so. It must be those killer heels causing her discomfort, Chaeyoung guesses.

She wants to envelop Mina in a long overdue hug, shower her with tender loving care. Mina certainly looks like she could use some affection. The older girl drops her keys on the dining table noisily, not even bothering to mask how drained she is. It makes Chaeyoung’s chest tighten because she knows why Mina works so hard—Mina always tells her that she wants to build a comfortable future for the both of them.

“Hey. You’re still awake,” Mina asks.

The supposed question sounds more like a careless statement. That is what Mina always sounds like these days—careless. Chaeyoung knows that Mina doesn’t mean to be this way. Her girlfriend is caring, loving, and always places her first. The older girl is just tired. Chaeyoung knows that, but her throat is bubbling with words she knows she will regret if she allows them to pass her lips. She does not understand why her fingers are digging into the hem of her shirt, or why her bottom lip is captured between her teeth so tightly.

“Chaeyoung?”

Mina is looking at her now but all she wants is for Mina to avert her eyes. Her beautiful girlfriend is frowning at her, eyes holding slight confusion as well.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Chaeyoung blurts, preferring to look at the marble floor. “Don’t look at me like you’re tired of me.”

She hears both the disbelief and exhaustion colour Mina’s voice, “What? Where is this coming from?”

She knows what Mina must be thinking. That after all the problems she has to confront at work, she comes back home and still has to deal with _this_. It makes Chaeyoung wince internally, a kind of heaviness forming at the pit of her stomach. She cannot look at Mina; she doesn’t want to know how disappointment and frustration looks in Mina’s eyes when it’s directed at her.

“Chaeng?”

“It’s nothing. I’m going to bed,” she says, getting up from the couch.

Gentle but firm fingers wrap around her wrist, preventing her from moving. Mina slides her fingers down, intertwining them with Chaeyoung’s own. Chaeyoung still cannot meet Mina’s eyes, choosing to stare at their joint hands instead. Maybe those pretty hands should be holding someone else’s instead of her own. It is not a difficult sight to envision—Mina in the arms of another, someone who is much more dependable and reliable.

Maybe Mina should stop holding on to her.

“Hey, talk to me. What’s wrong?” Mina asks, sounding much more worried and concerned this time round.

The older girl brings a hand to Chaeyoung’s chin, lifting her head gently. The action leaves Chaeyoung with no choice but to look at Mina square in the eye. Her girlfriend looks so pretty and so worried and so tired. Dark eye circles are starting to appear just below her eyes and her lips are slightly parched. Even so, Mina is still a sight to revel in. Chaeyoung wants to kiss her frown away but she’s not tall enough to reach Mina’s forehead.

(She’s always not enough for Mina.)

“It’s okay. Let’s just go to bed,” Chaeyoung tries to dismiss things.

Mina should rest and Chaeyoung knows that if she starts, the words will tumble out of her throat endlessly and these are words Mina does not need to hear, not when she is already trying her best to make things better.

“No,” Mina stubbornly insists, squeezing Chaeyoung’s hand. “It’s not nothing when you look like this. Tell me.”

Her lower lip wobbles at Mina’s persistence. Chaeyoung feels so, so, so stupid. She can feel hot tears threatening to escape and her vision is already getting blurry.

“It’s just—” her voice cracks. “You’re never home. By the time you get home, I’m asleep. When I wake up, you’re already gone. And you always clean up after yourself. There’s not even a sign that you’ve been home. We’re supposed to be living together but it hardly feels like it.”

Mina listens quietly as she rambles and Chaeyoung hates how Mina just lets her add on to her burdens and worries. It would lessen the guilt if Mina argued with her but Mina never does. It makes her hate herself even more.

Chaeyoung lowers her head again, mumbling, “I’m sorry. I know you can’t help it.”

Lips press gently and comfortingly against her forehead. When she blinks, tears escape her.

“You missed me,” Mina only murmurs against her forehead.

Unable to hold back anymore, Chaeyoung does what she has wanted to do since Mina stepped into their home. She burrows her face into the older girl’s neck, arms winding around Mina’s waist and hands clutching her blouse tightly, crumpling it slightly. Mina wraps her up in her warmth and Chaeyoung wishes she were taller so that Mina can lean into her instead.

“I missed you too, Chaeng,” Mina exhales, pressing another loving kiss against her crown. “So much.”

“I’m sorry. I’m a mess. I’m supposed to welcome you after a long day at work but—I don’t know why I keep messing things up,” Chaeyoung starts to ramble again.

Mina cuts her off, “No. Simply knowing that you’re at home waiting for me gives me strength. I’ll try to come back earlier next time.”

Chaeyoung nods, still clinging on to Mina. It has been so long since she got to hold Mina like this, to have her at her fingertips.

“Should I start leaving my dishes around then? Do you want to clean them up before you go to work? Hmm?” Mina asks, voice carrying a teasing lilt.

Chaeyoung pulls away briefly, only to lightly hit Mina’s shoulder. Her girlfriend giggles in response before quickly bending down and brushing her lips against Chaeyoung’s.

“You’re always more than enough for me.”

///

**Before the End**. _Breakup!AU. Mina/Jeongyeon._

Her boots are wet. Raindrops cling to the leather and more water seems to find its way to her footwear even though she is sheltered from the rain. Mina sighs, flicking her wrist and checking her watch for the nth time. The bus-stop she has temporarily sought refuge under is empty save for her. Seoul looks exceptionally grey today, the city seemingly splashed with monochrome.

She sees a public bus turning the corner, headed to her bus-stop. It stops just in front of her, the engine coughing and rumbling as the vehicle stalls. The doors open, and Mina has to step back in order to let people alight. They filter past her, each person going about their day. Umbrellas are opened, and raincoats are dug out from bags. She watches as someone dashes across the road with gritted teeth, with a lone hand shielding his eyes from the rain. Soon, the bus-stop is empty again.

The raindrops pattering against the roof of the bus-stop is supposed to be cathartic, but Mina finds no solace in the rhythm. It is only a bitter reminder of how long she has been standing here, how the wait seems to be endless.

Perhaps she should leave.

Just as she decides to board the next bus, a familiar black car rounds the corner, making Mina sigh again. The car slowly comes to a halt and Mina pulls the car door open, sliding into the passenger seat. The girl in the driver’s seat exhales quietly, wordlessly starting to drive. Mina takes the opportunity to dust the water on her boots away while the girl beside her keeps her eyes on the road ahead.

Just as she finishes dusting, the girl beside her asks, “How was work?”

“The usual,” Mina replies curtly, not bothering to lengthen the conversation.

She was made to stand and wait around at a bus-stop for almost an hour. It almost makes her laugh because it seems like all she ever does these days is wait. It is funny how in the beginning, she never needed to do so.

“I’m sorry I was late,” the girl apologizes.

The apology sounds more like it was said out of routine than genuinely. It has been like that recently—the words exchanged between them are routine and tedious, like a practice that has lost its original meaning.

Mina knows what she is supposed to do—accept the apology quietly and talk about the weather. It is simple, it is what she has been doing for a while now. Yet, this time, Mina feels a new kind of exhaustion creep into her. Tired of the same, meaningless words, Mina finds herself veering off script.

“You’re always late,” she says, tone more matter-of-fact rather than accusatory.

The girl flinches in her seat, flashing a brief glance at Mina before looking straight ahead.

“I had work too.”

“Then maybe you should stop picking me up after work,” Mina suggests, shrugging her shoulders.

She is met with silence and Mina wishes the girl would say something. Anything. Then at least they can stop pretending, stop being in role anymore. It is a script with no ending, just the same words being repeated over and over again. Tomorrow, she would get picked up from work in the same black car after waiting an hour at the bus-stop. Rain or shine, they play these mundane roles, spouting lines that no longer make any sense.

Mina wonders why she keeps doing this.

The air-conditioner is making the car particularly chilly today, especially since it is raining. She shivers slightly, folding her arms and pulling her jacket closer to her. She glances at the girl beside her, who continues gazing ahead, both hands on the steering wheel. When has the girl ever paid attention to her anyway? Mina leans back against the cold seat, staring outside the window.

She doesn’t know why she expected the scenery outside to be any different. It remains dreary and dull, the bleak clouds casting a shadow over the city. Maybe she should run away from this dreadful city for greener pastures. Maybe she should move to another city where the days are filled with warm sunlight and the nights are painted with stars. Maybe.

Maybe she should leave.

Just as she starts to imagine herself in an unfamiliar place where she can be free, the scenery outside stops flashing by and the car stops.

“We’re here,” the girl states.

Mina recognizes the apartment building that they reside in. She wants to ask just where ‘here’ is, because ‘here’ is not home. Home is a place that is filled with colour and warmth, with memories and love. This location, where they eat, sleep, but not live, used to be home. They both know that it is not home any longer.

Nothing is what it was any longer.

“Jeongyeon?”

The girl pauses, hand still on the door handle, turning to Mina.

“Yeah?”

In that moment, when Jeongyeon has her eyes on Mina, when her eyebrows are raised slightly, when her eyes hold a certain softness, Mina can see the Jeongyeon she once loved—the same Jeongyeon who would hold her hand while driving, who would always look at her, who would never be late.

That Jeongyeon always smiled at her.

Now, when she stares at the girl beside her, Mina realizes that this girl is miserable. (Both of them are.)

Mina realizes that she has stolen Jeongyeon’s smile.

She knows that things will change when she finally breaks character. It is frightening when she thinks how Jeongyeon will no longer be by her side. But she wishes that Jeongyeon would smile again—and for that to happen, she needs to let go.

She is going to leave.

 

“Let’s break up."

 


End file.
